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Contents
High emotional intelligence can increase the productivity of all manufacturing associates. 4
Low emotional intelligence can lead to associates being frustrated and having low productivity. 6
The emotional intelligence of manufacturing associates can be measured and assessed. 8
High emotional intelligence of associates can lead to better communication among the quality, production control, and manufacturing departments
The emotional intelligence of associates plays a very important role in determining the success of communication processes among associates. When the level of emotional intelligence is high, the communication process is facilitated with relative ease. Emotional intelligence has a very big role to play in determining how each person feels about his membership in an organization, or in other words, organizational identity. When emotional intelligence is high, it tends to affect the behavior of all participants, be they associates, affiliates or clients, in a very positive way.
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Managers should be emotionally intelligent in order to be able to deal with an organization’s day-to-day challenges in an efficient manner. By doing this, it becomes easy for relational coordination to take place such that negative practices within the organization discouraged and a strong sense of organizational identity created.
For managers in the manufacturing industry, emotional intelligence is more important than personality. A manager with high emotional intelligence is able to recognize his own behaviors, impulses, and moods as well as to manage them in the most rational way, depending on the prevailing situation. This enhances the process of production control, creation of quality and maintenance of proper synergies in terms of communication channels within and between departments.
Typically, emotional intelligence entails emotional empathy, discrimination of one’s emotions and selective attention. An emotionally intelligent manager is able to accurately recognize the moods of associates and manage his own moods relative to theirs in order for the communication process to progress with ease. Such an ability to adjust one’s emotions and behaviors is a valuable tool for dealing with stressful and difficult situations. In order to win the confidence of associates in the manufacturing industry, a manager must express his emotions in a balanced and honest way while at the same time showing respect, courtesy, and consideration towards associates. This entails possession of both social communication skills and social skills.
In terms of production control managers who are emotionally intelligent are able to dissuade employees from engaging in practices and behaviors that lead to low motivation, procrastination, and self-doubt. In other words, they are able to motivate the workforce towards the attainment of productive self-motivation and goal management practices.
Manufacturing departments that are headed by emotionally intelligent managers seem to excel in the achievement of organizational goals compared to those that are run by managers who are not emotionally intelligent. Emotionally intelligent managers are always able to manage their own impulses, solve difficult problems calmly, manage change easily, show empathy, and use humor to build rapport in situations that are very tense. These managers can express feelings of great optimism towards associates even in the face of great adversity.
Management and organizational psychology scholars have for a long time been emphasizing that the level of a managers emotional intelligence quotient is directly proportional to his clarity and composure whenever he is dealing with a chaotic and stressful situations, something that separates the best organizational management performers from weak performers.
High emotional intelligence can increase the productivity of all manufacturing associates.
Emotional intelligence can broadly be defined as an individual’s interpersonal and self-management skills. Managers who are emotionally intelligent can easily build rapport with associates in order to campaign for development agendas that are aimed at bringing about productivity increase in the manufacturing department.
Recent research done by Arond-Thomas (2004) shows that emotional intelligence is the most important personality trait for successful leaders to possess. Through proper training, ineffective emotional behaviors can be transformed into effective ones, something that Arond-Thomas’s research proves to be a possibility. Manufacturing associates who work as individuals or as groups are a good target for emotionally intelligent managers who with an insatiable desire for success. Such an environment provides them with a platform to prove that they are effective managers who can be entrusted with steering the organization’s destiny in the right direction.
Karriker, McMillan-Capehart& Prati (2009) observe that before the term “emotional intelligence” was coined in 1990, some psychologists theorized that social intelligence was responsible for some people in areas like leadership, sales, and coordination work. However, with the introduction of the concept of emotional intelligence, psychologists agreed that a person’s emotional predisposition, and not social intelligence, determined his level of success in matters of management and leadership.
Buda et al (2007) report that emotional intelligence in the work-family model contributes largely to the success relationship between associates and stakeholders in the manufacturing industry. When managers in this industry are emotionally intelligent, they are able to take control of emotional outbursts whether they are at home or in the workplace. It is therefore difficult for associates to get the wrong signal as a result of misplaced emotional outbursts. In other words, although events that take place at home may generate emotional outbursts, these emotions can never find their way into the workplace and vice versa; the manager is emotionally intelligent enough to put them under control.
Deutschendorf (2009) observes that in most organizations, managers fail to “check” the emotional disposition of their employees by failing to take any interest in their personal development, choosing instead, to concentrate on their on-the-job performance. In order to underscore the importance of emotional intelligence Deutschendorf points out that in organizations where emphasis is put on the need for employees and managers to improve on their emotional intelligence quotient, all manufacturing associates tend to record high profits any emphasis being put on activities such as processes, measurement of outcomes, and many other business-related assessment activities.
The explanation of the reason why emotional intelligence (EI) seems to be more important for the manufacturing industry compared to other business-related day-to-day performance and appraisal activities can be exemplified by rightfully conceptualizing EI as an “advanced common sense” (Deutschendorf 2009). This is because, unlike the cognitive function, the human emotional capacities are adaptable, flexible and highly expandable. This explains the rationale behind the success that many companies have recorded today by simply tapping their EI capacity at the managerial as well as subordinate level. The leaders of such organizations lead others by bringing them together and confidently taking them through simple, straightforward and workable plans of action that do not bring about disengagements. The ease with which emotionally intelligent managers seem to think of success beyond the monetary value is so amazing that it makes manufacturing associates believe that anything is achievable as long as one has the right mindset.
Low emotional intelligence can lead to associates being frustrated and having low productivity.
Managers who coordinate the activities of manufacturing organizations need to maintain emotional stability at all times in order not to be intimidated by the hustle and of many departments, production units, not to mention many manufacturing associates who look up to them for motivation and guidance. George (2000) says that when mood changes do not correspond with sensitivity in response to crises, one is said to have low emotional intelligence. Associates are always quick to notice signs of fear and self-doubt in managers. Whenever this happens, they become frustrated and their productivity level drastically drops.
Without emotional stability, cognitive processes cannot be easily controlled, yet this is exactly what is needed for one to become an effective leader in an organization. Knowledge and self-awareness of emotional states and their appropriateness in different corresponding situations is as important as knowing how to manage them in order to facilitate the achievement of certain goals. Associate expect managers to have the attribute to inspire them. When no inspirational thoughts, comments, and directions are forthcoming, it becomes difficult for one to avoid a feeling of helplessness.
George (2000) says that four aspects of EI must be present for organizational productivity to remain high. These aspects include (a) use of emotions for enhancement of cognitive processes, (b) expression and appraisal of emotions, (c) management of emotions and (d) knowledge about emotions.
During selection and training processes, today’s manufacturing companies can only ignore topics such as stress management, empathy, assertiveness, and social acumen at their own peril. This is because such topics are good indicators of the level of EI among prospective employees. These topics constitute critical factors that have a very huge impact on the bottom line and therefore, should never be dismissed.
A person who has a low emotional intelligence tends to deny, disregard or misinterpret the real impact of human emotion which tends to find explicit expression in virtually all social situations. According to observations made by Dulewicz & Malcolm (2004), people with alexithymia (low emotional intelligence) lack the verbal ability to explicitly express emotions that they are experiencing. They also find it difficult, if not impossible, to describe emotions in the people with whom they interact.
Emotional intelligence, like all other aspects of human intelligence, lies in a rather broad spectrum. In EI, there is high, normal and low emotional intelligence. Most people’s level of intelligence falls within the normal side of the spectrum. Just like intelligence quotient (IQ) tests can be done on individuals, Emotional intelligence quotient can accurately be determined in individuals. Company owners who know the value of a high emotional intelligence quotient always take bother to determine where all employees rank in this important aspect of personality.
Directors who have realized the importance of emotional intelligence only recently need not worry about the risk of low productivity that low levels of this personality aspect in employees may bring about. This is because some researchers are convinced that it is easy to train or teach the workforce on how to increase their emotional intelligence quotient for their own good as well as that of their organizations. Groves & Vance (2009) indicate that in cases where such forms of training have been carried out, employees have shown a significant increase in efficiency, leading to a corresponding increase in productivity.
Groves & Vance (2009) also talk about the influence of emotional intelligence quotient on the management styles that managers adopt. Managers with low emotional intelligence quotient tend to employ dictatorial measures, especially in times of crisis. By doing this, they choke all communication channels and the crisis gets worse. On the other hand, emotionally intelligent managers open up communication channels more in times of crisis, catching employees by surprise because of the level of calm that they maintain. Such managers know that by doing this, they motivate employees to take proactive measures in solving immediate problems.
The emotional intelligence of manufacturing associates can be measured and assessed.
Today, it is easy to measure emotional intelligence just as it has become possible to measure intelligence quotient in individuals. In order to assess the effectiveness of emotional intelligence measurement tools, some psychologists observe the performance of employees, such as manufacturing associates in order to analyze any correlations between emotional intelligence levels and level of productivity.
Since it is difficult to attribute productivity level changes to a single individual, such assessments are done on a large number of workers. In most cases, workers are trained in different aspects of emotional intelligence before being assessed while working. Singh (2008) considers emotional quotient to be a counterpart to emotional intelligence, adding that manufacturing associates industries can reap many benefits by understanding all aspects of emotional intelligence.
In the modern era of professional competitiveness, people are keen to employ tools such as intelligence quotient (IQ) in order to enhance their professional abilities. One of the most popular aspects of IQ is emotional intelligence. A low emotional intelligence level is sure to kill the morale of professionals, whether the results were accurate or not. This underscores the importance of having the measurement and assessment tasks done by professionals, especially among manufacturing associates, where a drop in production levels can lead to massive financial losses.
In recent years, organizational learning has come to be associated with the assessment of emotional intelligence. In an empirical study of the role of emotional intelligence, Singh (2007) observes that the success of any organizational learning undertaking in the modern workplace depends largely on the emotional disposition of employees. He notes a curious trend among managers who always expose manufacturing associates to emotional intelligence assessment and training prior to the introduction of any other organizational learning tasks.
When measuring emotional intelligence quotient (EQ), researchers focus on three macro areas: self-awareness, self-management, and self-direction. People with a high sense of self-awareness “know themselves” in that they are emotionally literate and they can recognize emotional patterns, correlations and respond to them in a socially acceptable and inspiring manner.
People with self-management abilities are considered to have the ability to “choose themselves” through consequential thinking, engaging in intrinsic motivation, navigating emotions, and exercising unwavering optimism. People with a sense of self-direction are able to increase empathy as well as pursue noble goals. They are able to remain loyal to the things they have set out to achieve in life. In each of these macro-areas, a score can be obtained. All the scores add up to constitute a person’s EQ.
The emotional intelligence of manufacturing associates is directly related to the performance of the facility with regards to quality, on-time delivery, and teamwork.
Emotional intelligence makes people find something good about the environment all the time. When manufacturing associates have high emotional intelligence, they can self-manage in order to overcome the oddity of the working environment. In other words, they can work at their best. It becomes easy for team leaders to nurture successful working relationships with manufacturing associates with high emotional intelligence.
The ability to determine the spatial-temporal dimensions of different tasks, events and situations correlate with emotional intelligence. Incidentally, this ability also correlates with an increase in output in terms of both quality and quantity. Feeling good, according to Webb (2009), lubricates mental efficiency, leading to a better understanding of information as well as decision rules where complex judgments need to be made.
Upbeat moods, which are an indication of high emotional intelligence, make people view events as well as other people in a positive light. They, therefore, become more constructively critical of their own decisions and actions in relation to those of other people, something that contributes to success in teamwork activities. This leads to a situation whereby other people respond proactively to an individual’s efforts leading to mutual optimism that the goals being pursued will be achieved.
An increase in quality as a result of high emotional intelligence is often explained through the tendency by manufacturing associates to be predisposed to helpfulness. When workers offer help voluntarily and playfully, they tend to do it creatively and professionally, such that instances of ethical malpractices become very minimal. It is not a wonder, then, that playfulness holds a noble place in the toolkit of successful managers in the manufacturing sector.
Good moods are important in situations where quality products can only be produced in a teamwork setting. However, although the manager has to do his part of stimulating cooperation among members of a team, it is upon every team member to participate proactively through emotionally intelligent actions, comments, and attitudes. Team members who lack this attribute become a let-down to the entire team. Such members require to be taken through emotional intelligence training.
Singh (2007) says that “group EQ” or collective emotional intelligence among team members is very instrumental in determining the quality of the products that are made. He defines “group EQ” as the sum total of each team member’s best emotional talents contributed wholeheartedly, in full force and in a harmonious manner. In such a situation, each team member feels the need to go the extra mile in order to please other members as well as to avoid being the cause of the failure by the group to achieve the set goals.
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According to common wisdom, manufacturing associates who are upbeat about the work that they are doing always maintain targets that are in line with the company’s bottom line. Emotional intelligence, especially when it is displayed by the management team and embraced by intelligent employees, creates a good service climate. Ordinarily, a good service climate is always directly related to improvement in quality and an increase in revenue generation.
Emotional intelligence affects the way employees perceive the organization’s bottom line in very many ways. The most important effect is an accurate, rational understanding of the complex factors that determine the success of every organization. When employees have this understanding, they will never display emotions that may jeopardize relationships among stakeholders, damaging reputation along the way.
In conclusion, emotional intelligence plays a key role in the manufacturing industry by directing the actions of managers as well as manufacturing associates in the right way. Modern manufacturing firms should measure and assess, among other factors, the emotional intelligence of their workforce during the selection process in order to increase efficiency and cooperation in all production processes.
References
Arond-Thomas, M. 2004. Understanding emotional intelligence can help alter problem behavior. Physician Executive, 30(5), 36
Buda, R., Eisner, A. &Lenaghan, J. 2007. An Examination of the Role of Emotional Intelligence in Work and Family Conflict. Journal of Managerial Issues, 19(1), 76.
Deutschendorf, H. 2007. The Other Kind of Smart: Simple Ways to Boost Your Emotional Intelligence for Greater Personal Effectiveness and Success. Amacom Books: New York.
Dulewicz, V. & Malcolm, H. 2004. Can Emotional Intelligence be developed? International Journal of Human Resource Management, 15(1), 95-111.
George, J. 2000. Emotions and leadership: The role of emotional intelligence. Human Relations 53(8), 1027-1055.
Groves, S. & Vance, C. 2009. Examining managerial thinking style, EQ, and organizational commitment. Journal of Managerial Issues, 21(3), 1045-3695.
Karriker, J., McMillan-Capehart, A. & Prati L. 2009. Affecting organizational identity: a manager’s influence. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies,15(4), 404.
Singh, K. 2008. Emotional Intelligence & Work Place Effectiveness, Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 44(2), 292.
Singh, S. 2007. Role of Emotional Intelligence in OrganizationalLearning: An Empirical Study.” Singapore Management Review, 29(2), 55.
Webb, K. 2009. WhyEmotional Intelligence Should Matter to Management: A Survey of the Literature. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 74(2), 32.